A/HRC/11/8 page 2 Summary The present report is submitted in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 8/4. The Special Rapporteur decided to devote the report to the question of the right to education of persons in detention, a group subject to discrimination generally and to discrimination in the provision of education specifically. Learning in prison through educational programmes is generally considered to have an impact on recidivism, reintegration and, more specifically, employment outcomes upon release. Education is however much more than a tool for change; it is an imperative in its own right. However, prisoners face significant educational challenges owing to a range of environmental, social, organizational and individual factors. The Special Rapporteur aims to inform and assist Governments and interested parties in their efforts to address these factors and develop best practices so as to ensure the currently unfulfilled right to education for persons in detention. The report greatly benefitted from the active and constructive engagement of many relevant actors, including Governments, international organizations, academics, non-governmental organizations and prisoners. Combined, they offered a wealth of different perspectives of education in detention from which all can learn and which form the basis of a number of recommendations at the end of the report. To those who have so engaged, the Special Rapporteur extends his warm thanks.